Hien Le Mythology Project
Akrisios and Danae “''One other quite problematic illustration appears on a White-Ground lekythos of about 450 B.C., also now in Bern (Jucker Coll).” '' Page Number: 302 Museum location: Bern, Switzerland Name of the museum: Jucker Collection (Bern) Accession number: Jucker Coll Pictures: ' * Beazley Database: http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?id=7748717F-BBE0-45E5-9000-C8F60180DAEC * LIMC (Online Version): http://www.iconiclimc.ch/visitors/imageview.php?source=139&image_id=38218&term=Akrisios+10&modus=1 * Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae: Can be found under Akrisios 10* Perseus and the Gorgons “…''we find here the idea that Athens holds up a polished shield so that Perseus may guide his hand when striking the blow (ApB 2.4.2). The first preserved literary appearance of this shield is in Ovid (Met 4.782-83); …” '' ''Page Number:' 307 'Literary Reference: There are many versions of how Perseus killed the gorgon and how he used her head. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses ''(Met 4.782-83),'' Perseus cuts off the head of Medusa by looking at her in the reflection of his shield. Perseus later meets Atlas who is in charge of holding the sky up on his shoulders. Perseus uses the Gorgon's head to turn Atlas into a mountain when Atlas threatens him. Perseus also condones his action with the fact that Atlas refuses hospitality to Perseus on the grounds that "a son of Zeus will come steal his apples." Andromeda “''The illustration of Andromeda’s imprisonment and rescue is especially abundant in Apulian pottery of the fourth century B.C.. In these examples Andomeda is…just chained to a solid outcrop of rock (Halle, no#); …”'' '''Page Number: 309 Museum location: Halle, Germany Name of the museum: Halle University Accession number: Halle, no # Pictures: Pending permission for picture. Email sent 4/17/14. Picture not found online and on LIMC. Assessment: This piece of artwork is part of the Jucker Collection museum located in Bern, Switzerland. It is a vase, black and white, originally from Athens. The technique used was a primary red-figure with a white ground foundation. This process allowed the artist to use the common technique of drawing on two contrasting surfaces but what made this vase special was the use of the white foundation which did not become popular until later. The white foundation was used by applying a white slip as a background for the lekythos (Oakley 7). The vase is in the shape of a lekythos, namely a jug or vase used to hold liquids. These kinds of vases are known for their appearance in bath-scenes and were often given as funeral gifts (Oakley 5). The name “Akrisios” and “Perseus” can be found engraved into the vase. The vase shape, technique, and fabric points this vase to around 560 B.C. until the end of the fifth century (Oakley 9). On the vase, there are three tiers with a man sitting on the second tier. The man is believed to be Akrisios sitting on a tomb. On the second tier, the names of Perseus and Danae are inscribed. This can be assumed to be the tomb of Perseus and Danae with Akrisios sitting above it. This simple picture can be interpreted many ways. In the story of Akrisios and Danae, Akrisios sacrifices Perseus and Danae because he believes his own life to be in danger. Knowing this, the vase could be depicting as Akrisios after he has thrown the mother and son into the sea afterwhich he built a tomb for them or the vase could be foreshadowing Akrisios' soon-to-be deeds. Sophocles, the philosopher himself, believes that the vase does not tell the story itself but rather the internal conflict Akrisios felt in the story (Karamanou 13). He is in a quandary, having to choose between his life or his family. In the literary sources, Akrisios' emotional state when decided the fate of his family was unknown. The only thing that could be truly deduced was the fear he felt when he retold the prophecy that his daughter's son would overthrow him and kill him. Besides this one emotion, Akrisios was depicted as rather heartless and unremorseful. In the vase however, Akrisios is depicted as heart-broken and torn between his decision. This vase show's Akrisios' humanity despite all that he had done. This piece of artwork questioned the usual story of a hero's quest. The audience only gets told the hero's version but the villain who initiated the crime received little details into his state of mind. This vase brings into perspective the second side of the story, from Akrisios' viewpoint. This vase portrays him as one who had to overcome his conscience before making his decision and one who grieved over his daughter and his grandson upon their supposed death. The decision he made was not an easy one as the story had made it seem. This unique point of view gave the audience a valuable representation of another side of the myth. Bibliography: Oakley, John Howard. Picturing Death in Classical Athens: The Evidence of the White Lekthoi. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 2004. Print. Karamanou, Ioanna. Euripedes Danae and Dictys: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. N.p.: Walter De Gruyter, 2006. Google. Web.